Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Dump Fed Education . . .

Joe Bottini is spot on in today's OD's Guest View: Common Sense trumps Common Core anyway
. . . The 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution dictates public education is a state issue. They should dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and help Arne Duncan find a real job. . . .

The federal government sets requirements for states for their “piece of the ill-gotten pie,” and local districts are given state requirements to receive some crumbs from that “piece.”
And like crack addicts, states and local school boards will do whatever is asked of them to get those federal funds. . . with the funds fostering policies and programs of questionable value while advancing the careers of those bringing in the $$$.

Mr. Bottini correctly points to big businesses, the money they will make producing educational materials, and their influence over politicians as motivation for the federal involvement . . . But I believe there is more.

With Federal Funds comes a Federal Agenda a/k/a Federal Control over what is in the hearts and minds of our children. Give them a few more years and control over the nation's populace will be a snap!

Given the state of public education today, can anyone really say that it is better today than 40 to 50 years ago when there was minimal federal involvement? Public education these days is less about giving students knowledge and more about telling them how to think.

While there will be short-term withdrawal pains, we'll all be better off if funds for Federal education programs get cut off.

1 comment:

Dave said...

Well, the fact is states don't really exist anymore. Unless you count the myriad of duplicated services, politicians, friends and families that suck the life out of taxpayers. But with few exceptions in the medical and drug fields, none of which are really consequential, the feds have all the control and will never give it up.
Now I know it's tough to argue for State primacy when your state (NY) is run by criminals, and you wouldn't have the American people behind you anyway. America today is essentially a federal jurisdiction. And as long as something is on sale this coming weekend at the mall, Americans won't give freedom much thought. Turns out our freedoms were more tied to state primacy that we ever imagined. The concept of people organized as states to give SOME power to a federation only for good reasons is what made America unique. It distinguished us from Old Europe. No more.